


i don't wanna grow up (let me stay here with you)

by clownphobia



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: BAMF Clarke Griffin, Bellamy is so obviously in love, Clarke Griffin & John Murphy Friendship, Clarke Griffin-centric, Clarke is a badass, F/M, I'll add tags as I think of them, Murphy is a good friend, Octavia Blake & Clarke Griffin are Best Friends, Octavia Blake Ships It, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sassy Raven Reyes, The 100 (TV) Season 1, Wells Jaha Lives, can you blame him?, chaotic clurphy, clarke just being a teenager, clarphy brotp, drunk besties, everyone ships it, jasper ships it, warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:29:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26755843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clownphobia/pseuds/clownphobia
Summary: 100 juvenile delinquents are sent to earth to see if they can survive. What could possibly go wrong? Everything, thats what. Literally everything could go wrong.Quick Word Summary:Clarke and Murphy were in solitary together and became besties, then they are sent to Earth and Clarke and Bellamy's roles are reversed. So Clarke is an actual teenager and couldn't give a flying shit for everyone else and Bellamy is taking care of everyone. So basically Clarke gets to be the 17 year old that she is and Bellamy is the dad to all the delinquents.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin & John Murphy, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Octavia Blake/Lincoln, clarphy brotp - Relationship
Comments: 17
Kudos: 110





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was literally an idea I had at like 2 in the morning, so bare with me. 
> 
> Don't be a silent reader :) 
> 
> I will take any constructive critism you can give me!
> 
> \- Warning, the beginning is a little iffy, because that was what I wrote at night-

Clarke wakes to feeling restraints holding her body back. What the hell was going on? The last thing she remembered was her mom drugging her to sleep. “Shit” she mutters and a familiar voice makes her turn in shock. “Welcome back” the voice says and she turns to the voice swiftly and sees her childhood best friends, Wells Jaha. He can see the anger in her eyes and he immediately tries to explain himself.

“Don’t talk to me Wells, don’t even look at me, You got my father killed. There is no way I can ever forgive you for that. End of story” she says and she can see the pleading look in his eyes for her to forgive him. He should of thought of that before he decided her father wasn’t worthy of that same luxury. The rocket shakes and the televisions in the corners flicker on. Seen on the screen, is the one and only, Thelonious Jaha.

He goes on talking and Clarke sounds him out, she never wanted to here that voice again. She hears cheers and shouts and sees a boy float over to her in zero gravity. “Check it out. Your dad floated me, after all” he says and Clarke laughs which makes Wells scowl. “You should strap in before the parachutes deploy” he mutters and Clarke rolls her eyes.

“Hey, you’re the traitor who’s been in solitary for a year.” He says, shifting his focus to Clarke.

Clarke rolls her eyes again but smirks, “Yeah, and what if I am? You’re the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on a spacewalk”.

“Maybe, but it was fun. I’m Finn” he says.

“Oh, I never doubted that. I’m Clarke. You might want to strap in before you go through the roof and go splat on the atmosphere” she says and he grins, but does as she says and sits.

The screens go black and the dropship stutters through the air. Clarke bites her lip nervously, the parachutes should have deployed by now. “Retrorockets ought to have fired by now” Wells mutters and Clarke glares at him. “The ship is like 100 years old. Give it a second” she mutters and turns to the other side. Looking at everything, _anything_ other than the guy beside her who betrayed her trust just to prove himself to dear old dad.

“Clarke… please, I can’t die knowing you hate me” he pleads and she scoffs, turning to him.

“Drop. Dead.” She mutters, looking him directly in the eyes to get the message through. She never wanted to see him again.

She feels a crushing feeling and sees two boys go flying through the air. Shit. Everything was quiet. “No machine hum” someone whispers, breaking the silence. And then everything was chaos. People were climbing out of their seats, scrambling down the small ladder.

Clarke quickly unbuckles her restraint and pushes through the crowd. She hangs on the ladder and sees everyone standing awkwardly in front of the huge door waiting in front of them. _Gotta do everything all by my fucking self,_ she thinks to herself as she goes to the door. “Clarke, what are you doing?” She hears Well call and she ignores him. She reaches for the handle, but a soft hand stops her. “What the hell are you doing?” A rough voice asks.

She turns to the voice, a smirk playing on her lips. “I’m opening this fucking door. Are you going to try and stop me?” She asks and studies the man in front of her. He had tanned skin tone, surprisingly golden considering how no one had ever been in front of the sun in 100 years. Using way too much hair gel, his hair was slicked back, and he was wearing a guards jacket. That was what threw her off. Why the hell was a guard on the ship?

He rolls his eyes like she was being ridiculous, “The air could be toxic” he says and she scoffs, eyes dancing humorously. “If the air is toxic, were all dead anyway. So get out of my way” she mutters and he raises an eyebrow. The look he was giving her was messing with her head. He didn’t make any sign of moving, so she shoved him away and pulled the lever quickly.

A bright light shone and for a millisecond she was scared. Was she wrong? Then it dimmed and she saw a full forest in front of her. A real smile spread across her face and for the first time, she is happy to be sent to the ground. “Should someone say something?” She hears the previous guy ask to the crowd.

“I’ve got an idea” a girl around Clarke’s age says, pushing through the crowd. She registers the look on the man’s face and the look of content the girl has. They know each other, Clarke connects the dots. The girl steps off the ship and feels the grass on her boots.

“WE’RE BACK BITCHES!” She yells, raising her fists in the air, and everyone cheers, running out into the forest. She runs with them, looking for the one person she wanted to see. She turns and sees the same mop of hair that she’s been stuck with for the past year, standing only a few yards away from her. A smirk grows on her face and she runs to him.

She jumps onto his back, and he laughs, immediately knowing who it is, “Jesus fuck Griffin. How is it you’ve gotten heavier since I last saw you?” He asks and she jumps down. “John Murphy, how was your flight?” She asks with sarcastic proper language and he nods formally. “My flight to this hell scape was very good, Clarke Griffin. How was yours?” He asks and she smiles. He gives her his signature cocky grin and pulls her into another hug.

“Did _the_ John Murphy miss me?” She teases into his shoulder and he scoffs.

“Don’t make me regret it, Griffin” he mutters and she laughs.

When she was first put into solitary, she was given Murphy as a roommate. They hated each other straight away and avoided each other as much as possible. But when they realized neither one of them was going anywhere anytime soon, they just started talking to one another, not a whole lot, but everyday they talked more and more until a friendship was formed. And now they were both here, these delinquents are going to be seriously fucked if they messed with one of them.

“So, what shall we do now, Griffin?” He asks her and she shrugs.

“Whatever the hell we want”.

\- - -

When Bellamy first saw this girl, he didn’t know what to say. He was uncomfortable at first, no doubt about that, she seemed to look straight through his soul. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to figure her out. She wasn’t like the rest of these idiots, she had some brain cells left from solitary, but she was also quick witted and cocky. So the real question was how many of those wits are still about her?

Octavia runs back up to him, pulling him out of his thoughts about the blond girl. He really had to learn her name. “Bellamy! I can’t believe were really on Earth. I was talking to some guy, I think his name was like Will, or… Wells! Wells was his name, he was talking about getting a group together to go find some mountain. Apparently we aren’t where we are supposed to be? But I want to go with them.” She says, seeming to ask for his permission without words.

“O, not happening. I’m not letting you go off somewhere when we have no idea what is out there” he says and she groans loudly. “Bell, I am going. I want to be able to do stuff just because I can” she says and runs off before he can stop her. He groans internally and turns away to see the blond girl again. She seemed to be looking for someone. He doesn’t know why he watches her, maybe it’s because he’s bored, maybe its because she gets under his skin without even trying.

He sees her run somewhere, then jump on some guys back. He can see the two of them laughing and teasing each other. _They are probably together,_ his brains supplies loudly and he shakes the thought out of his head. Why was he so fixed on figuring this girl out?

\- - -

Clarke walked around what was turning into camp with Murphy and literally runs into Finn, from the dropship.

“Hey, Clarke right?” He asks and she nods.

“Yeah, Clarke” she says and tries to go away quickly. That boy was getting on her nerves, and his attempts at flirting everything but subtle. Murphy and Clarke walk away, and she wraps her arm around his. “So, did you see that boy by the door?” She asks and Murphy nods.

“Yeah, that was Bellamy Blake. His sister was the girl under the floor” Murphy says and Clarke raises an eyebrow, “No shit! Thats who that was?” She says and Murphy nods.

“You know what I miss? Alcohol” he complains and she nods.

“Yes! I knew what I was missing!” She mutters and he smirks.

“We are going to rule this world. I mean with your badassness and quick wit, and my cockroach survival skills, there is literally nothing to stop us”.

Clarke nods and lays her head on his shoulder. “My mom drugged me, my dad is dead, what else you got, world?” She says sarcastically and he stops. “You sure you’re ok?” He asks hesitantly and she nods quickly.

“Yeah, just… processing, y’know”.

He nods, and he doesn’t just nod to comfort her, he agrees with her because he did know. His father was floated because he stole medicine to help him when he was sick. Then, his mother became a drunkard and blamed Murphy for his fathers death. When his mother died, he burned down the quarter’s of the arresting officer, leading to him getting arrested. And the rest is history.

“It’ll get better. It always does”.

She nods, then gives him a look. “What, Griffin?” He mutters. “Can I have a ride?” She asks and he raises an eyebrow, eyes dancing with humor, head already shaking. But she already knew he would let her.

“Please?!? My feet are killing me!” She pleads and he groans loudly, but nods. She grins cockily and claps, jumping onto his back. She hears him cuss dramatically under his breath and she swats at his head. “Do you ever think about what we’d be doing if we weren’t arrested?” She asks as he starts walking, randomly poking kids.

“You regretting knowing me already? Harsh, Griff” he mutters and she laughs, “Maybe, you’re a bit of a bitch” she says and he drops his hands from her legs quickly and grabs her again before she can fall too far. “Dick!” She laughs and pulls at his hair.

“No. I don’t, because then I’d just be all lonely and depressed, but now I’m free from the mighty Chancellor’s rules and have a new bestie” he says and she smiles, touché. Clarke turns her head and sees a small group talking near them. She sees Wells with them.

“We need to go to Mount Weather. Otherwise we’ll have no food and we will all starve” she hears him say and she scoffs, hypocrite. She looks down at him and she sees him looking up to her. A silent understanding passed between them and he nods. He walks up to the group, and Clarke speaks up. “Count us in”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to add like every other day, so bare with my terrible school schedule and writing schedule. :)

After Bellamy saw Octavia talking to Wells Jaha and that boy Finn, he knew he had to intervene. He goes over and he can already see that Octavia was still pissed at him. _She’ll get over it._ “Where are you going?” He asks and Jaha looks at him skeptically. _Go fuck yourself, Jaha. I’m here for my sister._

“We’re about to leave. We need to go to Mount Weather. Otherwise we’ll have no food or supplies and we’ll all starve” he says and Bellamy hears someone scoff loudly, then John Murphy walks up to them with the blondie on his back.

“Count us in. Sounds fun” she says and Bellamy can’t help the smirk that shows up on his face. _Brave Princess._ “Yeah, what the hell, right?” Murphy says and Bellamy rolls his eyes That’s the best he could come up with? “I’m coming too” Octavia says and he shakes his head, “O, not happening” and he hears the girl laugh.

He turns to her, an annoyed look in his eyes. This girl was starting to piss him off. “Is there something funny about me protecting my sister?” He asks her and she smirks, looking down at Murphy and he chuckles as well. “Yeah actually, it is pretty funny. I say she’s her own person. She should be able to do what she wants” the girl says and Bellamy raises an eyebrow, thinking of all the ways he could cuss her out in his head.

“She’s my sister. My responsibility” he says and he could see how funny she found it in her eyes, but she only shrugs.

“I say she can come, what about you Murphy? You cool with it?” She asks, turning her head down to look at the boy who was currently holding her up. Murphy shrugs, looking directly at him when he says, “I’m good, what about you mini chancellor?” He asks and the girls smirk only grows wider.

“We don’t have time for this. Bellamy you can just come with us. We need to hurry and get back quickly or everyone will likely die of starvation or hypothermia” Jaha says and goldilocks over there laughs dramatically out loud. “That is a great idea, big shot. If only my father was given that same grace and sophistication!” She says and Murphy raises an eyebrow at the insult. It wasn’t a shocked look, but he looked as if he was _proud_ of the roast.

“We can take our anger out on Jaha later. But we really should go now, who all is coming?” Finn asks, obviously hoping to break some of the tension.

“Me, Octavia, you, Clarke, Murphy, Monty, Jasper, and Bellamy” Jaha says and Bellamy could practically see the thoughts running through the girls head. Clarke, Jaha said. Murphy apparently could too, because he looks to her and a silent conversation passes between them. “Ok, we’ll meet you near the edge” Murphy says and Clarke nods before they walk away.

\- - -

Clarke and Murphy walk away and he lets her down when they get to the backside of the dropship. “Ok, you good? That was intense.” He says and she shakes her head, letting the tears fall. He nods shakily and holds her close, letting her cry into his chest. “Yeah, I know. It’s gonna be fucking hard, Griff. I can’t lie and say it will be easy. Sometimes you're going to see him and want to just float him over and over again. Trust me, I of all people, get it. But you got me wrapped up in your drama. And I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You’re stuck with me now, got it?” He whispers to her soothingly and she nods into his chest, tears still falling.

“I can barely look at him. Everytime I do I see my father floating into nothingness, or him promising to have my side.” She mutters and he nods again.

When her tears dried and she pulled away, she gave him one last hug. “Thanks for being my friend, Murphy” she mutters and he smiles to her when she pulls away.

“Griffin, I wouldn’t miss your daily dose of drama for the world. You ready to go?” he says and she laughs, wrapping an arm around his.

“Wait… I have an idea”.

They find everyone waiting for them at the edge of the woods just like they said and she sees Bellamy frown slightly at what was dangling from there hips. “Where did you get those?” He asks and she shrugs innocently, pulling the homemade knife blade off her hip. “This? Oh, I made it. Well, he ripped it out, I made it” she says and Murphy nods raises a cocky eyebrow at the group.

“Let’s go” she says to Murphy and they push through the group to start walking.

\- - -

Bellamy saw the two walk away and he turns to Jaha, “What’s up with Goldilocks?” He asks and he shrugs. “I didn’t even know she was friends with Murphy. They probably met sometime in solitary. She isn’t exactly in a gossiping mood with me lately” he mutters and Bellamy nods.

“Yeah, I saw that. Lovers quarrel?”.

Wells smiles as if something were funny, then sees he was serious. “Yeah, no. Me and Clarke are friends, have been since we were kids. But I did something bad and she won’t ever forgive me”.

“That’s really fun, but why are they running off somewhere?” Octavia asks, and Bellamy can already see the curiosity in her expression.

“How would we know? Probably got horny” Jasper says and he high fives himself with Monty. Wells rolls his eyes, but Octavia laughs.

They all go to the edge where they said they would meet them. “She’s kind of a bitch” Bellamy mutters and Jasper smirks, “She’s kind of a badass. I heard she was trying to do some really bad thing, but the guard captured her and she’s been in solitary for a year. Right after her dad was floated too” Monty says and Wells furrows his eyebrows together in frustration.

Before anyone can say anything, Clarke and Murphy come back, arm in arm. But what Bellamy notices is the sharp piece of metal attached to their waists. “Where did you get those?” He asks and she raises an eyebrow, pulling it off her hip. “Oh, I made it. Well, he ripped it out, I made it”she says and Murphy wiggles his eyebrows at them sarcastically. She puts the knife back on her waist and they walk through the rest of them. “Let’s go”.

They walk ahead of them, and Bellamy hears little snippets of their conversation that usually include some form of insult, teasing, or some nonsense that one of them says. But no matter how immature either of them acted, Bellamy knew neither of them were afraid to do something dangerous. He knew they could kill if they had to. And that was what scared him.

\- - -

Clarke skips ahead with Murphy and it was even better then being trapped in that cell for a year together. Because now they had somewhere to go.

“So where is this Mountain anyways?” She turns and asks them and everyone looks to Wells. He gives Clarke a look and then points at a tall mountain about 20 miles away. “That there is Mount Weather. The closest thing to our next meal is 20 miles away” Wells says and Clarke lays her forehead on Murphy’s shoulder, “So much walking” she complains and he chuckles. “Calm yourself, Elle Woods.” He says and she mockingly glares at him.

“I’m still mad you didn’t wake me up for that. We only had movie nights like once a month and that’s like one of my favorites” she says and he nods.

“Yeah, Yeah, yeah. I know and I apologized like a thousand times” he mutters and she smirks, patting his head.

“Maybe someday you can make it up to me”.

Clarke knows that everyone is watching them, but she doesn’t care. She didn’t care about what anyone thought about what she did, not anymore. Not since the one person she loved most was floated by the one person she trusted the most. He seemed to notice her change in attitude, because he offers his arm and she links hers with his. They walk away and she gives him a whispered thanks to him as they leave the others earshot.

“No problemo, Grifferino” he says, which earns a laugh from her.

“Hey, Hansel and Gretel! Can we stick together?” Finn shouts and Clarke and Murphy both turn.

“That is the best you can come up with?” Clarke laughs and he shrugs.

“Maybe if you stick with us, you’ll give me more to come up with” he offers and she nods.

Even when she joined them, she couldn’t get the feeling of Bellamy Blake’s eyes on her out of her head. Finally she turns to him and points a finger on his chest. “What is your problem? Can you like stop staring at me? It’s creepy and a little unsettling” she asks and he shrugs.

“I’m just trying to figure you out, Princess.” He replies and she scoffs.

“Blake, you couldn’t handle me if I came with goddamn instructions”.

He smirks and Clarke finds herself looking directly into his eyes, almost _transfixed_? What the hell? Why does he have to be cute and annoying at the exact goddamn time?

“You think your witty. What do you think will happen when we run out of food, or some kind of mysterious plague hits the camp? I doubt your cocky one liners or sarcastic eye rolls are going to help us then” he says and she raises an eyebrow, eyes playing in front of him wildly.

“You think I’ll be useless? Hey, Murphy? How useless am I really?” She asks and he steps up, apparently getting involved as well. _He did promise._

“Well, you are a trained in medicine, earth skills, and know how to kill and save someone like 20 different ways. Her mother is a doctor and has a seat on the council, her father worked in engineering and her best friend’s father was the chancellor.” He supplies and Clarke smiles at him.

“So, not only do I say I am amazing, but I can actually kick your ass and save it. I don’t think you want to be on my bad side” she mutters walking away with Murphy.

“She is awesome” she hears Octavia say, running up to her.

“Hey, you said you were good in medicine. I want to help, any way I can, I want to help people. Obviously I don’t have to be doing big stuff, but I want to like watch over your shoulder and see how you do stuff” Octavia says and Clarke nods.

“Yeah sure, I could use a break from Murphy’s bad attempts to fixing people up” she says, making Murphy frown and Octavia laugh.

“My brother doesn’t seem to like you very much” she says and Clarke shrugs.

“I don’t need him to like me. I just need to survive. In the wise words of John Murphy, cockroaches survive” Clarke says and Murphy pretends to wipe at tears. “You made me so proud”.

“You two are fun. I’m gonna hang around you two a lot” Octavia says and Clarke and Murphy share a teasing look before nodding to her.

\- - -

Bellamy groans inwardly when Octavia stays in the front with Murphy and the princess. Couldn’t she just stay on his side of this? _What sides?_ A voice in his head asks. _Bellamy or Clarke? Mature or Immature? Republican or Democrat?_ They are all the same. It all just ends badly. Eventually they reach a lake with a long rock holding on the edge.

“There shouldn’t be a lake here” he hears Jaha mutter and Finn shrugs, “Well there is. And I am all for it” he says and Bellamy notes how he is looking Clarke up and down as she jokes with Murphy near the edge.

He watches the two of them push each other around and knows whats going to happen right when it does. Clarke pushes Murphy into the lake.

Bellamy’s mind immediately goes into action, but Clarke just laughs as he gets soaked. When Murphy stands up, soaked head to foot, his heart slows back to normal. Murphy glares at Clarke and she smirks as he climbs out.

He feels a grin on his face when Murphy grabs Clarke and pulls her in with him. “Murphy!” She yells and he laughs. “Jasper wanna swim?” Octavia asks, pulling her shirt off and Bellamy rolls his eyes. _You can’t keep your goddamn shirt on?_ He notices how Jasper nods a little too eagerly.

Everyone goes in the water, except for Bellamy and Wells who is purposely occupying himself with the map, probably to avoid looking at Clarke enjoying herself in the water with Murphy.

Bellamy didn’t know why he wasn’t in the water, spending time with his sister. Probably because he always suspected something bad to happen. Or maybe it was he was transfixed with the way Clarke swam with such ease even when she had never swam once in her life, or how the thin layer of clothing stuck to her chest when her shirt got wet.

He quickly shook the thoughts out of his head and went to the side where Wells was looking over his map. “Where are we right now?” He asks to distract himself. Distract himself from anything but what he was previously thinking about.

\- - -

Clarke swims with everyone and can’t keep the smile off her face. She hasn’t felt like a part of something in over a year. Yet here she was, swimming with a bunch of kids her age _on Earth!_

She climbed out of the water to dry her clothes off when she saw it. Some kind of thing was swimming towards Octavia. “Octavia!” Clarke yells and Octavia turns to her voice, startled by the urgency of it. “Get out of the water! Look!” She yells, and apparently she got Bellamy’s attention because he comes over and sees it as well.

“Shit. Octavia get out!” He yells, but it was too late. Everyone was out, but Octavia was pulled under by the weird shark thing. Everyone panics and Clarke scowls. “We can push this rock in, to distract it and get her out” she says and points to the rock on the edge. She runs to it, trying to push in the only thing in reaching distance that could distract the water thing.

Apparently every one snaps out of their panic trance and helps her push it in and she runs to the other side to help Octavia up. A gash the size of her arm was across her leg. “Ok, don’t worry this isn’t as bad as it looks. I can fix it, easy peasy” she mutters, ripping a piece of Octavia’s shirt to wrap around the wound.

Everyone meets her in the sand and sees the wound on Octavia’s leg. “Gory Griffin, don’t throw up anywhere” Murphy says and Clarke smirks. “Leave it to you Murphy to make jokes while I heal someone who was almost eaten” she teases and he shrugs.

She turns and sees Bellamy crouched beside her. She sees the worry and pain clearly in his eyes and face. She feels slightly guilty, so she places her hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be ok. Pinky swear it” she says and he rolls his eyes but a small smile is evident so she knows he thinks she’s funny.

“Thank you” he says and she nods, trying to hold it in, but she can’t help herself. She nudges her shoulder with his and smirks deviously.

“Not so useless anymore, huh?”.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW CHAPTER!!

They walk slowly back to the camp, trying to delay the inevitable that someone has to take care of those idiots. Bellamy holds Octavia’s arm over his shoulder, helping her walk on her wounded leg. “So why were you arrested?” Octavia asks Jasper and Monty as they walk, obviously feeling the now uncomfortable silence.

“Medicine isn’t the only thing you can plant if you know what I mean” Jasper implies, winking at her as he walks.

“ _Someone_ forgot to replace the stash we took and we got caught” Jasper mutters and Monty scoffs.

“ _Someone_ said sorry like a thousand times”.

Octavia laughs, hopping down what they made into a trail. She looked ahead at Clarke and Murphy, how the two of them just fit together at each others sides. She knew they were just friends, but she still wanted something like that. Someone to always be by her side, to stand by her even when she isn’t herself. She wanted it just by seeing the two of them.

“What’s on your mind?” Bellamy asks when he notices her voice dying down. She shrugs the best she can, with her shoulder propped on his. “Just… you can see how well they fit together” she points to the two ahead of them who were currently bickering and poking each other, “like two platonic puzzles pieces finally together”. He chuckles softly and looks at her who only shrugs again.

“So, Princess. What did you do to be deemed a traitor? And solitary for a year?” Finn speaks up and Clarke turns to him, eyebrow already raised in her normal _I’m about to tell you fucking off_ fashion.

“My father died trying to protect the Ark, so I tried to finish the job, but they caught me before I could air it” she says, calling out to Bellamy’s curiosity. “What was so bad about the Ark they had to keep you confined long enough so they could legally float you?” He asks, regretting it as her eyes meet his. There was a hidden question in her eyes, but he refused to answer it. He kept his face as impassive as always and waited for an answer. He knew she wasn’t going to give up on her vendetta with him, but she seemed to let it go for the moment.

“The Ark is dying. It has about 2 months , now around 4, of air left before everyone up there dies. That is why they sent us down, because apparently were expendable”.

Everyone seemed to be shocked by the new information and Bellamy read her expression that she didn’t know why. He understood where she was coming from though. The Ark has been in space for over 100 years. It was going to run out of oxygen eventually.

“Luckily, we don’t have anyone to care for up there enough anymore to save it” Murphy says and Clarke nods her head to the left in his direction, as if to say _What he said._

“What about your mother? You said she was still alive” Finn says and Clarke scowls.

“She doesn’t care about me. If she did she wouldn’t have left me for dead” she says and turns back to the trail, signaling that they need to change the subject. Murphy turns back with her and offers his arm. She accepts and they ring their arms together. “I don’t want them to come down” Clarke mutters and Murphy nods in understanding.

“I know, but the kids here have people they care about up there… so there’s that. But I’ll promise you something. If they come down here, and everything is turning to shit. Like the guards are pulling their guard shit down here too. Me and you, we’ll go, go anywhere else. Deal?” He asks and she shrugs.

“Fine. But I’m holding you to that”.

\- - -

Bellamy watches the two of them skip around like children, and he knows he shouldn’t judge. They’re just being the 17 year olds they are. But it’s still frustrating and he doesn’t know why. He didn’t know a lot of things when it came to Clarke Griffin, that’s for sure. “What’s on _your_ mind, big brother?” Octavia asks, apparently seeing his eyes on the duo ahead of them who are now _literally_ throwing rocks at each other.

“Guys, don’t hurt each other. That’ll kind of suck to have to carry one of your unconscious bodies back to camp” Jasper says and Clarke turns to him, a smile on her face.

“Oh no, if I knock him out we’re leaving him here.” She says, throwing a rather large stone in the direction of his head. Murphy dodges it easily and scowls, “Damn, Griffin. Ok I see how it is. I thought we had something special, but fine. I was going easy but not anymore” he mutters and grabs her around the waist and spins her around. She laughs out loud, trying to pull away. He drops her to the ground and she throws another rock at him weakly, which he also dodges quickly.

“Dick” she mutters and he shrugs one shoulder, not denying nor accepting it.

“We’re never going to make it to camp at night. We should stop” Monty says and everyone looks up, as if only realizing how dark it has gotten.

“Did we bring anything to even set up camp?” Octavia asks and Finn reaches into the bag on his back. Pulling his hand back, a large sleeping bag comes from it. “I have this, what about you?” He asks Clarke and she shrugs, turning to Murphy.

He groans and reaches into the small pack attached to his back. He pulls out a sleeping bag as well. “Yeah we’re sharing that, John Murphy.” Clarke says as if it wasn’t even an option. It probably wasn’t.

  
\- - -

Clarke and Murphy look to the group and everyone searches their small bags for what they managed to grab from the crowd before it was locked down until they got back. All together they had 4 sleeping bags and 5 blankets. Clarke didn’t even think about the sleeping bags, but they were in a hurry so she just grabbed the first soft looking thing she could find. It turned out to be a body sized grey, worn out blanket. It was Jasper, Octavia, and her that had brought blankets. Octavia was smart and brought two.

Clarke already knew from the beginning that Octavia was smart. She knew how to take care of herself. Although, its kind of guessed that someone who has been trapped under the floor for her entire life has some form of independence. But Clarke knew she should keep Octavia on her side. She may not appear it, but Clarke could tell she was tactful and smart. Octavia took everything she heard in and processed all of it. Being stuck hidden all her life gave her the ability to stay hidden when need be. That’s an advantage.

“We can stay here” Bellamy says when they are all standing under a dense cover of trees and moss.

Everyone puts down the blankets or sleeping bags and figure out who would sleep where. They didn’t have enough sleeping bags for everyone, so Murphy and Clarke would share, Monty and Jasper would share a sleeping bag and Jasper’s blanket, Bellamy and Wells would have their own, and Octavia would sleep with her two blankets like a makeshift sleeping bag.

Clarke crawls into the sleeping bag with Murphy, pulling the blanket in as well. The bag was big enough so they could keep their distance but luckily, they’ve slept in smaller quarters together than this. On nights when the nightmares were too bad and ate away at their sleep, or when one of them felt like they couldn’t breathe from the deafening silence or emptiness their life then was, they would curl up together and fall asleep in each others arms. The dreams didn’t bother them then.

She curled into his side like she always does, and pushes the blanket with her feet to the bottom to cover the entire size of the sleeping bag. “Your feet are so cold” he mutters and she scoffs.

“You are one to talk. Your entire body is like a rotting corpse. Solid and _freezing“_ she mutters, but she doesn’t move from his side. Because even though she wouldn’t admit it, he was always warm right before he fell asleep. His body was always felt like her own personal heat radiator.

“Please, that never stopped you from sleeping with me before” he argues and she shrugs.

When there teasing bickering quieted down to quiet nothings, she realized just how quiet everybody was when they were talking. The only thing she could hear was quiet snoring from Jasper and shuffling around in they're sleeping bags or blankets.

Her eyes fall closed and her body falls into Murphy’s now sleeping body. She falls into what she hopes is adreamless sleep.

Apparently, her sleep track didn’t have the same ideas she did as she woke in cold sweat from a yet again, another bad dream. _It’s just because it’s my first night on Earth. Nobody sleeps well the first night after traveling through space to what was previously an inhabited planet. Right,_ she thinks as she pulls herself out of the sleeping bag and Murphy’s arm that was draped over her body, careful to not wake him up from his sleep.

She looks around and finally sees everything around her. The trees and moss on the rocks are lit up with bright greens and blues that cover every inch of the dense forest in front of her.

“You’re awake?” A voice asks from yards ahead of her and she doesn’t have to squint to see who it is. The lights on the ground, flowers and trees gave her the brightness to see him staring in wonder at a glowing butterfly. It’s Bellamy.

“Dreams” she murmurs, walking over to him and he nods, not really paying attention to what she was saying. She wasn’t really either, to be honest. She was too entranced by the jungle of lights in front of her.

\- - -

Bellamy looks to Clarke and watches as the glowing plants and flowers reflect off her ivory skin and golden locks of hair that hung loosely on the sides of her face. She looked like a princess straight out of a fairytale.

“This is so cool” she whispers, picking up a flower and turning to him and he diverts his eyes quickly to avoid being caught staring. But he looks back at her to see her looking at him with a raised eyebrow. She had caught him anyway. “Do I spy with my little eye Bellamy Blake warming up to little old me?” She asks and he scoffs, picking at the translucent moss on the rock they sit on.

“It’s cool. You don’t have to tell me you think I’m awesome. I have Murphy for that” she says giving him a look and he knows she waiting for a laugh or smile. Anything to feed her ego. “Whatever you say, Princess” he smirks and she nods, seemingly satisfied.

“This shouldn’t even exist” she whispers, turning her full attention back to the flowers and butterflies. “Side effects of the radiation” he mutters and she scowls. “Got to take the fun out of everything. Maybe I should just wake up Jasper, he’d appreciate the magic of this planet” she mutters, standing up from the rock they sit on.

He follows her up only because he didn’t want to be left alone when he had no idea what any of this could do. _Power in numbers_ , he thinks. “What was it like? In solitary?” He asks, attempting to figure her out in any way. She laughs softly and it reminds Bellamy of Octavia’s, weirdly enough. Full of life and happiness, still young enough for the laughter to be unburdened by the reality. He would think that, but he knew this wasn’t the case. Because Clarke had seen plenty of reality for two life times. Her father had been floated for trying to save the Ark, she was a medical student who had probably seen plenty of death already, and was then imprisoned for a year only to be sent to her death on a radiation-filled planet.

“Seriously, I said I was going to figure you out. You are a puzzle of your own kind”.

She gives him a look, but surrenders and sits down in front of the fire and across from him. “At first it was terrible. I was stuck with Murphy and he was being his usual dick self. But it got better quickly…” she launches into her story and he finds himself enjoying it. He could see in his mind what she was talking about, the way she told her stories.

_Flashback-_

_Murphy was laying on his makeshift cot, two weeks into solitary. Clarke had been here for the same amount of time as him. He’s throwing a piece of Clarke’s chalk at the roof, leaving marks that would probably stay for a while. He was in a mood because Clarke was no where to be seen. “Fucking Princess, of course she gets out. Why I am fucking surprised? The Princess always gets her way” he’d been mumbling to himself for the past two hours since he woke up. He truly didn’t know why he was surprised. Solitary was probably just playtime for her. Some time to feel like the rebel she wants to be._

_Right before he managed to fall back asleep, the door opens with a loud groan and closes with a loud slam. He sits up right when the door is pushed closed with wide eyes. Sitting before him was the very Princess he was just hate talking about, unconscious and bloody on the cold metal Ark floor._

_“Jesus! Fuck!” He yells, falling onto the floor and tries to shake her awake. The girl before him doesn’t move and he starts to panic. Did he really just dump a dead Clarke Griffin in his cell._

_“Griffin, wake up! I will kill you if you die on me” he mutters and looks at her unconscious form. They were hurting her, he realizes. Scattered along her body were bruises and bleeding wounds._

_What the hell did she do to end up like this?_

_He tries shaking her again, and on his fourth try her eyes flutter open. He lets out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank fuck, I thought they left you dead in here” he says when he sees her dim eyes looking around the room. She looks up and sees him sitting over her._

_“Can you hear me? Griffin?” He asks, trying to keep her awake. He didn’t know much about helping people, but he did know they weren’t supposed to fall asleep after almost dying. She nods slowly, then winces. “Ok, just stay awake. What do I do?” He asks her and she closes her eyes again._

_“I want to die” she mutters and he shakes her harshly. “No, you are not allowed to die, got it Princess? Of all things that is the one thing you do not get” he says and he can see sweat bead on her forehead as her eyebrows furrow together in frustration._

_“Tell me what to do? I hate to break it to you, but I’m no medic” he says, deciding to distract her with anger to keep her eyes open._

_“Even anxious you're a bitch” she groans and he rolls his eyes._

_“Even on death’s brink you’re annoying” he shoots back, helping her onto her cot. “Glad to see we’re on the same page” she mutters and lays her head on the hard metal wall. “I may not be on the brighter side of the crayon box, but I have a feeling you aren’t supposed to let these wounds just sit here” he says, biting his lip nervously._

_She rolls her eyes, “Calm down, John Murphy. There isn’t exactly much we can do for it, now is there?” She asks and he nods._

_“Why did they do this to you? Why are you even here?” He asks, sitting on the cot beside her. She glares at him, “Why do you ask so many fucking questions?” She mutters and he scowls at her and eventually she sighs in defeat. “The Ark is dying, and I tried to tell everyone. Because of the law they can’t float me yet, but that won’t stop them from trying to evade that the best they can” she says and he connects the dots easily._

_“They’re trying to kill you so they don’t have to wait to float you.” He mutters and she nods. It’s the look of determination in Clarke’s eyes that does it for him. He was very, very wrong about Clarke Griffin. She was put in here for something even bigger than anything anyone else did. She wasn’t here because she wanted an andrenaline rush. She had tried to save the Ark. Everything about her screamed spoiled princess, but it was all wrong._

_“Why are you helping me? Why not finish the job for them? I mean you hate me, right?” She asks him and he shrugs, “Seems we were both wrong” he mutters and he sees a flicker of humor in her eyes before they close._

_“Ok, then. I’m going to take a nap. You know, sleep off that fun bit of torture” she murmurs sarcastically and he is about to protest but she’s already out cold._

_“She is going to be the death of me” he mutters._

_End of Flashback-_

Bellamy turns to her and sees her absentmindedly running her hand up and down a scar the size of his forearm on her leg. “So, I assume he helped you and then you became besties?” He asks and she smirks. “Pretty much. I scared the shit out of him when I would randomly fall asleep or trip. Always assumed I was dying or something” she chuckles and looks at Murphy. He was still asleep in the sleeping bag they share.

“You two are definitely a weird friendship.” He says and Clarke shrugs, “I was stuck with him for over a year, we grew on each other” she says, turning to the fire and listening to it crackle brightly. “I’m going to try to get a little more sleep. Goodnight Bellamy” she says to him and goes to crawl back into the sleeping bag with Murphy.

Bellamy watches her get comfortable in Murphy’s side and fall asleep. He watches her high guard fall as her face takes a peaceful look when she was truly is sleeping. Then he turns back to the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be a shy reader :) Let me know in the comments what you think and feel free to give ideas for something that could happen in the story line!! 
> 
> I take all constructive criticism!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's kind of short. :(

When Murphy wakes up he feels an asleep Clarke Griffin against his body. He yawns loudly and sits up in the sleeping bag. Being woken up by how loud he is, Clarke groans and turns to her other side. “5 more minutes” she whispers and he shakes his head. “Wake up, Griffin. We gotta go” he says and she shakes her head.

“Just a few more minutes?”.

“No”.

“Yes”.

“Fine”.

He lays back down and looks around to see everyone but Octavia and Jasper were now awake. Wells was looking at the map with Finn and Monty and Bellamy was rolling up his sleeping bag.

“How are you still cold?” Clarke complains and Murphy scoffs. “You aren’t exactly a summers day either, Rapunzel” he mutters and she just nods and curls up into his body. “You are an enigma of your own kind. You say I’m cold and then you wrap around me like a goddamn sloth” he says and she hums in response.

“I said five more minutes. So shut up and give me five more minutes”. He gives up and just nods.

Five minutes later, she sits up and stretches. “My back hurts. Sleeping on the ground is a bitch” Clarke complains and Bellamy scoffs. “You did it for a year on cold metal. I think you’ll manage” he says and Murphy sits up and watches as Clarke gives him a look. Bellamy and Clarke stare at each other with challenging tension that neither would back down for. Murphy watches Clarke and realizes some form of what is going on. Something happened between them when everyone was still asleep. Some form of mutual respect.

Murphy clears his throat and waves his knife through the air between them. Clarke turns to him, finally breaking the staring competition with Bellamy. “What are you doing?” She asks him and he shrugs, “Trying to cut the tension between you two”.

“It didn’t work. I still feel awkward” they hear Jasper say, and see him stretching lazily by a moss covered tree.

Clarke rolls her eyes and sits up, turning back to Bellamy. “For your information, I had a cot in there. And if I did sleep on the floor, it didn’t mean I enjoyed it” she says. Murphy nods, “Preach, sunshine” he says and shoves her out of the blanket. She glares at him and pushes him back. “No fighting this early children, please” Jasper says and helps Octavia stand as she had just woken up. Bellamy glares at Jasper as he keeps a hand on Octavia’s arm even when she is up.

“Tell that to grease head over here” Clarke says and picks at pieces of Murphy’s hair. “Well, showers aren’t at the top of my priority list right now, princess” he teases and she smirks. She runs one more hand through his hair and stands up from the blanket. As soon as she gets out, he follows her lead and helps her roll up the blanket and sleeping bag.

“You keep the blanket inside the bag to minimize space taken up” she explains to him and he sarcastically tells her he knew that. He didn’t.

“Where to next, mini chancellor?” Murphy asks Wells and he rolls his eyes. “We keep following this trail and we should be at Mount Weather in about half an hour” he says and Clarke nods, shoving the sleeping bag into Murphy’s bag. “I don’t want to carry it!” He complains and she shrugs. “Tough. I didn’t want to share it with you for an entire night, but I did.” She says and he scoffs.

“Puh-lease, Griffin. You wish you could spend another night with me. You enjoyed it plenty on the Ark” he says and watches Clarke glare mockingly at him. He turns to the group and sees Monty and Jasper smirking, Octavia trying to hold in a laugh, Bellamy and Wells focusing on there shoes very hard all of a sudden, and Finn fiddling with some metal trying not to pay attention to the conversation.

“You are one to talk, John Murphy. I had to pry you out of my arms some mornings when you wouldn’t go away” she shoots back and hears Jasper whisper “The tension this morning is riveting. I can’t breathe!”. She smirks at his words and can hear Octavia and Monty silently laughing at them.

“Great we both agree. We are great at sleeping together” he says and she finally laughs. “Sure Murphy, you could say that” she says and sees Octavia run up next to her out of her rear view. “I’m gonna go make Jaha regret coming out of his mother’s womb for a while” Murphy tells her and she smirks as he walks away to taunt Wells.

“So what happened between you and Wells?” Octavia asks her and Clarke turns to her. “Perceptive, I see”.

“Stalling, I see” Octavia shoots back and Clarke shrugs. “We were best friends. I trusted him with a life or death secret. Lets just say he chose the latter. And it got my father killed” she says and Octavia winces. “I’m sorry that happened to you” she says sympathetically and Clarke shakes her head.

“Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. Sorry never really fixes anything. It’s the actions you choose to make after that provoke forgiveness” she says.

“I like that”.

“I’m known to be very wise with my words” Clarke teases and earns a laugh from Octavia.

“Ok, so I have to ask. You and Murphy make double meaning jokes about sleeping together _all the time._ Did you two ever actually do it?”.

Clarke laughs and turns back to see Murphy talking mockingly to Wells and Jaha looking ready to cut open his jugular. She turns back to Octavia’s waiting question, making sure nobody was listening. “Yeah, we did. We _do._ Ever heard of friends with benefits. We like _created_ that” she says and Octavia smirks.

“Fucking knew it” she mutters and Clarke chuckles softly, “And there are no feelings at all?” She asks.

“Nope, falling for John Murphy is not exactly the plan” Clarke shakes her head and looks to see Octavia’s still baffled expression. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised. We were stuck together for over a _year!_ Even convicts get horny. And luckily, don’t tell Murphy this or it will go straight to his head, but he is pretty good at it so I don’t exactly want to stop it” she mutters and Octavia laughs at her last statement.

“What are you ladies laughing it up about over here?” Jasper asks as he wraps an arm over there shoulders and squeezing in between the two. Clarke and Octavia share a look and Octavia smiles, telling Clarke with her eyes that her not-so-secret secret was safe with her. “Nothing much. Just talking” Clarke says and Jasper nods. “Cool, cool. So I was talking with Monty and he says he could get some moonshine whipped up pretty quickly once we get back to camp. You interested?” He asks and Clarke immediately nods, making them both snigger.

“I haven’t had a solid drink in forever. Don’t judge me” she says and Jasper holds his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, no judgement here girl, I could use one too” he says making her laugh as well. “How far from the mountain are we?” Octavia calls back and they all turn to Wells. Murphy winks to Clarke and she rolls her eyes. He gives her a teasing look and she raises an eyebrow.

“If you two would kindly stop eye-fucking, that would be much appreciated thank you very much” Jasper says to the two of them and Octavia tries to hide her smile.

“Shut up, Jasper! Octavia’s right, how far?” Clarke tries to change the subject, but Murphy keeps giving her smug looks.

“It should be right up here” Wells says and they all look around.

“Look, there’s a ledge up there” Bellamy finally speaks up and they all look to where he points. Sure enough, there was a ledge sticking out of the ground over a river about twenty feet away.

“So ready for some food” Monty mutters and Finn smirks. “All in good time, my friend. All in good time” he says.

They all collectively run for the ledge and stand on it. Bellamy and Clarke look down on the river simultaneously and he feels the water as she measures mentally how far the jump is.

“We won’t be able to swim across. Or walk across. It’s too deep and the current is too strong” Bellamy says and turns to her.

“We can’t jump. The distance is too far and we’ll just fall in.” She responds. They turn back to the group and Clarke sees a look in Octavia’s eyes as she watches the two of them. “Any ideas?” Clarke asks and Finn steps forward. “We can use the vines to swing over” he says. Murphy whoops loudly and pats Finn roughly on the back.

“Yes!! We are going to Tarzan the fuck out of that vine!” He yells and Clarke laughs loudly, everyone else but Wells following. Octavia looks and sees a small smirk on Bellamy’s face. Better than nothing.

“You wanna go first, Spacewalker?” Clarke asks and Finn winks at Clarke before pulling at the vine. It comes off easily and he steps forwards. Clarke looks at him and Finn looks down at her. “Enjoying the view, Princess?” He flirts shamelessly with her and she raises an eyebrow.

“Can you go already. Some of us would like to cross too” she says, avoiding his honestly lame attempts at getting her attention.

He shrugs and turns when he sees Jasper coming up next to him. “Hey, let me go first” he mutters, eyeing Octavia who was smiling at him. “All right. Here we go!” Finn says and hands the vine to Jasper.

Jasper grabs the vine boldly and gives them a strong salute before swinging across the water. His body swings freely across the river and he drops to the ground on the other side. They all wait for him to stand and when he does, he comes up with a sign in his hands. Clarke squints to see what it says and laughs happily. “We made it! Its Mount Weather!” She says and they all whoop and cheer. Unaware of the preceding danger.

As if in slow motion, they all watch as a spear appears out of nowhere and punctures Jasper, sending him flying onto the ground. Monty lets out an elongated gasp of shock and Bellamy holds back Octavia as she screams. But Clarke is frozen in amazement. Even as Murphy pulls at her arm for her to run, she can’t move. Because this wasn’t supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to be here. But out of everything that has gone wrong, this was the most surprising.

They weren’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's kind of short! My train of thought decided to crash and burn completely this weekend and I had practice so I wasn't able to get a lot done.


	5. Chapter 5

Clarke feels Murphy pulling at her, but it was as if she was frozen to the spot. “Clarke, run!” He shouts and she somehow finds a way to move her feet. She runs beside him, her head still turned in the direction Jasper was hit. After running about a mile, they slow down to take a breath. A loud scream comes from behind them when they stop. _Jasper._

“We need to get back to camp” Bellamy says. Clarke turns to him like he’s crazy. “Are you insane? We have to go back for Jasper!” She argues, pointing in the direction she heard him scream, and he glares at her.

“If you want to get yourself killed over a rotting corpse, then be my guest. But I’m not” he says and Clarke turns to Octavia. They communicate with looks alone and Octavia gives her a slight nod. Clarke grins and pulls her knife from her hip.

“I wouldn’t do this unless Octavia was cool with it. If we don’t go back for Jasper right now, I will knock you out and leave _you_ here to rot” she growls through clenched teeth, holding the knife to his neck. His eyebrows furrow together and she watches as he turns slightly to Octavia, a look of betrayal on his face.

“I’m sorry Bell. But we can’t let Jasper die. We may not have a chancellor to lead us down here, but that doesn’t mean we now get to choose if people die because it’s what benefits us” Octavia says and Bellamy turns back to Clarke.

“What makes you think I won’t be able to knock you out first. I’m a guard” he mutters and she smirks, ready to fucking tell him off “Because you aren’t a guard anymore. You really think I’m stupid enough to believe they’d let you keep your job, with a _gun_ , after they found your sister? And I can guess you only came down to protect her. They wouldn’t send someone down like a guard to Earth, you’re not expendable. Which means your weapons were taken away. So show me what you got, just do it” she gets close to his face and raises her eyebrows, “I’m. Right. Here.” She elongates each word and he scowls at her, proving she was right.

“Ok, why don’t we all just calm down. Clarke, why don’t you put down the knife” Finn says and she turns to him. “Don’t you even start with me, Spacewalker” she mutters and he quickly backs away from her.

“Clarke, we don’t have long” Octavia says and Clarke nods.

“He’s already dead. Why are you even trying to hurry and get his corpse!” Bellamy asks her and Clarke scoffs.

“You heard him scream! If the spear hit him in the heart, he’d already be dead” Clarke says.

“Ok, some of us will go back to camp and get everything back together and the rest will go find Jasper” Octavia says.

“I’m going to help find Jasper” Monty says and Clarke stops him. “Monty, I need you to go back to camp. I know you have a knowledge of herbs, it could be useful until we get food” she says and he starts to object.

“Monty, I promise you when we get back, Jasper will be with us” she says, cutting off his arguments and he nods solemnly. “Octavia, I need you to go too” Bellamy says and Octavia starts to argue as well.

“Octavia, for once I agree with Bellamy” Clarke says and Octavia eyes widen in shock.

“Clarke!”.

“Octavia, I’m going to put this in the most blunt way. You’re a badass and people will listen to you. Unfortunately, those delinquents are not. I need your help, you said you wanted to learn from me? First lesson in leadership. You have to work with your head more than you’d like. They don’t know that. If anyone can keep them in order, you can” Clarke says to her, resting an arm on her shoulder.

Octavia smiles with pride at Clarke’s words and nods. “Ok, you may be right though. You are wise with your words” she mutters and Clarke laughs. “I tried to tell you. I am wise beyond my years” she says and Octavia grins.

“I’m going back with them” Finn tries to worm himself out, but Clarke grabs him by the collar. “Don’t even think about it, Spacewalker. You said it yourself, you’re a tracker. Which makes no fucking sense, you’ve lived on a space station your entire life, but ok. Well, you’ve made your bed, now you gotta lay in it” she says and Finn scowls.

“Flirting doesn’t always get you places, huh?” Murphy says and Clarke laughs.

“I’m coming too” Wells says and Clarke starts to object, but Murphy grabs her shoulder. “He could be useful, you said he knew Earth Skills.” He says and Clarke nods, turning to the group.

“How come Murphy gets to go?” Octavia asks and Clarke turns to her and places her elbow on Murphy’s shoulder. “Him? Oh, he’s my emotional support human. And he has a weapon” Clarke says and Murphy nods, not rejecting the comment.

“I’m useful for some other stuff too, but we don’t really discuss those kinds of stuff in public” Murphy winks and Monty scoffs dramatically.

“There are children present!” He says and covers Octavia’s ears, making her laugh. Clarke found it a little ironic, considering it was only Octavia who actually knew the truth.

“We’ll see you guys soon.” Clarke says and they head there separate ways.

“Do you really think he’s still alive?” Bellamy asks her when they get far enough from Octavia and Monty. Clarke turns to him and she tries to figure out what’s going on inside what he calls a brain. “Yeah, I do”.

“Then lead the way, princess” he says and she smirks, giving him a small nod before continuing down the trail. The look he gave her when they sat by themselves in front of the forest of lights keeps coming back to her head. It’s irritating her and she doesn’t know why. She didn’t like the way she felt around Bellamy Blake. She didn’t really have a word for what it was called either. It was like her head decided to go into over time to memorize every small detail of Bellamy.

“You good?” Murphy asks her and she shakes the thoughts out of her head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just focused”. She didn’t tell him what she was focused on though, not yet.

“Clarke, do you think we will ever get in contact with the Ark?” Finn asks and she turns to him. “God, I hope not” she says and he furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “I’m confused. I know your dad was floated, but what did your mom do? Isn’t she still alive?” Bellamy says and she shrugs. “It’s a long story”.

It wasn’t really. She just didn’t want to relive that particular memory ever again. It was possibly, no it was, her worst time in solitary.

  
_Flashback-_

_Clarke was sitting against the wall, a piece of black chalk in hand, but it wasn’t touching the wall. Murphy was watching her, worry evident on his face. She had been sitting like that for the past hour, not doing anything. It had been a week since she fell back into their box, wounded. She hadn’t really been the same ever since she started talking._

_He knew he didn’t really know much about her anyway before the incident, but now, she just seems empty. “Hey, Clarke, you ok over there?” He asks and she looks up slightly._

_“I’m good. Just zoned out” she very obviously lies and he nods, coming down onto the ground beside her. He grabs the chalk from her hands and her head shoots up to look at him like he’s insane. “What are you doing?” She asks as he throws the chalk across the tiny room._

_“What happened in there?” He asks and she glares at him. “I’m serious, Griffin. I’m not letting you sink into your own mind in here. Trust me, it doesn’t do any favors to anyone” he says. She just shakes her head and leans her head against the wall. Closing her eyes tight, and letting out a heavy breath, she faces her head to the ceiling, hoping it can just scoop her up and take her away._

_“I know how they tortured you physically and I know why. But I want to know how they tortured you mentally. What did they do to you?” He says quietly, and he would think she didn’t hear him, that she sunk back into her own head once again, if she wasn’t silently crying._

_“My mother was there. In the fucking room as they tried to kill the information out of me. She kept saying, ‘Just promise you won’t tell anyone and this can all be over’ and ‘Clarke, you’re trying to start a massage and that will get us killed. We’re just protecting everyone’. She let her own daughter get tortured because she wanted the Ark to be completely dependent on the council for information. She wanted power!” She cried and he nods, letting her cry._

_Murphy had never been the best when it came to tears. He always felt awkward when someone was crying, he never knew what to do. Do you hug them? Lie to them and say everything is going to be ok? It was the one of the only things that confused Murphy. Crying was as useless and the next coping mechanism. It doesn’t get anything done, it doesn’t solve the problem. The one time he had ever willingly cried was after his father died. It was his fault he was dead after all. When his mother found him crying, she just gave him a look of disgust and shook her head. She told him, “John, crying is a useless coping mechanism for the weak. Are you weak?” And he, being only like 8 fucking years old, shook his head._

_His mother nodded and walked away, never mentioning it again. The only thing she said to him after that was what a disgrace he was, or that it was his fault. Sure, she was also always in a drunken stupor, but it still stung. Which is why, when she drunk herself dead, he didn’t cry. He never cried again._

_So seeing Clarke cry was foreign to him. He didn’t know what to do, so he just sat with her. Let her let it out. It was a relief to Murphy, to be frank. It was the most he’d heard from her since he first found her and she fell asleep on her cot. When she had woken up, she never said anything. She just waited for rations, and used the one cup of water she was given to clean the wounds._

_It scared him, to not see her do anything, so he was filled with relief in this moment, when she had finally done something that wasn’t staring at a wall or scream in her sleep when the nightmares became too much._

_“Don’t feel sorry for me, John Murphy” Clarke had told him when her tears ran dry. He turned to look at her and he recognized a small flame of what she used to be in her eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of it”._

_She smirks slightly and nods, and on reflex, lays her head on his shoulder and yawns. “When was the last time you even got a full nights sleep?” He asks her and she shrugs. “Nightmares don’t really get the memo that I should be sleeping” she murmurs and he nods. And they fall asleep like that. Two screwed up people who just need some sleep._

_End Flashback-_

Clarke looks over at Murphy and knows he is thinking of the same thing. After that day, they couldn’t explain it, but they felt closer. He helped pull her out of her shell she had shoved herself into and in return, she sat with him when he felt more alone then he ever did with his mother. Because they were alone. They had no one but themselves for an entire year.

“So what do these hand cuff things do any ways?” Finn asks, pulling at it and Wells slaps Finn’s hand away from the cuff around his wrist.

“They transmit our vital signs to the Ark. Take it off and they’ll think your dead” Wells says and Finn smirks.

“Should I care?”.

“There are people up there you care about and people that care about you. Do you want them to think you’re dead?” Wells says and Finn goes pale at his words. At first, Clarke smirks at the sight, but then she registers his words and her eyes widen. She looks down at the clunky metal contraption on her wrist and then to the knife on her wrist.

_If they took them off…_

“Clarke, no. I know what you’re thinking” Murphy speaks up and she turns to him.

“We could guarantee they never come back down! Do you want to be controlled by them again? Killed for your crimes now that you’re of age to be floated?” She asks him and he shakes his head.

“You don’t have to take yours off if you don’t want to, but I’m not going to stop people from taking there’s off” Clarke says and Bellamy turns to her.

“What, don’t want to take over and run the place like your mother?” He asks and is shocked when instead of biting back like he expected her to do, she pales slightly and straightens her back.

“I’m gonna walk ahead” she says and steps forward quickly before anyone can say anything to her.

Murphy steps into stride beside Bellamy and nudges his elbow. Bellamy turns to him, shifting his focus from Clarke’s walking form.

“What the hell, man? Why did you have to bring up her mom? You were doing so well, and you just had to pull that straw” Murphy mutters so only he can hear, and Bellamy puts that detail in the pile of puzzle pieces that is Clarke Griffin. His only problem is putting the pieces together.

“What’s so sensitive about her mom?” He asks and Murphy rolls his eyes.

“Have you even been listening? It’s not my place to share, so if I were you I would have another one of those midnight chats and get the full story”.

Bellamy turns to him in shock. Had he been awake when he and Clarke were talking? Forget Clarke being a puzzle, Murphy was the whole goddamn board game. Murphy just rolls his eyes again, and looks in Clarke’s direction.

“I’ve known her for what feels like half my life. So I know you unsettle her. And she doesn’t even know why. But I also know her enough to know something happened between you two last night”.

Bellamy shrugs, not believing that while looking for a possibly dead kid, John Murphy was giving him the _touch my best friend and your dead_ talk.

“I’m pretty sure all this bickering between you two is just sexual energy, but you two think otherwise. If you two would just bang it would solve so many problems you two are having with each other” Murphy mentions casually and now it’s Bellamy’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Isn’t that your job?” He says sarcastically and Murphy laughs even though Bellamy was meaning it as a subtle insult, “Touché, Blake, Touché”.

Bellamy grimaces at his words. “Yeah, ok”.


End file.
